Tag Archives: gadgets

I just recently moved back into my house, and a lot’s changed since I was here. Perhaps the most notable difference is that home and work have combined. So, when it came time to configure my home office, I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed to adequately work and play in the same space while also keeping them sufficiently separate.

Let’s talk needs. Two monitors is a minimum for work. Some people like a third display, but it’s give-or-take for me. I find that I’ll be looking at the far-left monitor and not notice something important that’s happening on the far-right. I’m not anti-third display; it’s just not something that I particularly care about. I like two displays for home for some of the same reasons. If I’m learning something, I want to have a page up on one screen while I work on the other. Or, maybe I want to poke away at some code while watching some TV. Either way, two screens makes life better. The old home office had my home and work computers in different rooms because I didn’t have a proper office, but it was time for them to unite.

This union created a dilemma: two computers, three monitors, two keyboards, and two mice. Seems like a perfect job for a KVM, but I was surprised to find that multi-display KVMs aren’t cheap. After a night of research, I decided it would be worth it to splurge and get an IOGEAR 2-port MiniView Dual View Dual Link DVI. On paper, it’s just what I needed. Two monitors, a keyboard, and mouse could be shared between the two computers. The third monitor would be hooked up to a DVR for some entertainment on the side, but it could also be used as a third display for either computer if desired. (I’d change the third display manually using its built-in source selection.)

The MiniView is a cool piece of hardware. It’s got some decent weight to it, and the metal case and buttons look nice–essential for a desktop peripheral! I ran into some hiccups hooking everything up, but I think it may have been because I was hot-swapping everything instead of turning everything off like recommended in the user manual which, of course, was not read until after the fact. The functional shenanigans during setup caused the initial configuration to take the better part of 2 hours and was really frustrating. I was definitely feeling some buyer’s remorse and considering sending it back, but I got it working after a few reboots and do-overs.

Okay, initial setup was done. Displays were working; keyboard was working; mouse was funky. I’d read some reviews about issues with wireless mice, so I wasn’t entirely surprised by this. I had a nice gaming mouse, so I decided to just roll with that, but I couldn’t do it. I missed my Logitech Performance MX and had to go back. Fortunately, the MiniView has a USB port to share a single peripheral between computers. I plugged my Logitech universal receiver into it, and the mouse worked just fine. Boom, problem solved.

I was all done, or so I thought. I ran into another problem a day or two later, this time with the keyboard. The “t” got stuck, and even unplugging and re-plugging it in didn’t solve the issue. So, I grabbed a cheap 3-port USB hub that I had laying around, plugged it into the single shared port on the KVM, and plugged my mouse, keyboard, and wireless headphones receiver into it. Now I’m not using either of the KVM’s dedicated USB keyboard or mouse ports, but everything works perfectly. I lose out on the KVM-specific keyboard and mouse commands, but the KVM is front & center on my desk so I probably wouldn’t be learning or using those commands, anyway.

Everything’s been good for another day or two at this point, and so far, so good. I’m feeling good about this configuration and hope it keeps working!

Oh, and if you’re curious about the monitor/computer connections, my two monitors connect to the KVM via HDMI-to-DVI cables. Computer 1 is connected to the KVM using the KVM’s provided DVI+USB cable and a DVI-to-HDMI cable. Computer 2 uses the DVI+USB cable and an additional standard DVI cable. The third display connects to Computer 1 using a VGA cable (Computer 1 only supports 3 displays if one is VGA), Computer 2 using a standard HDMI cable, and the DVR using a standard HDMI cable. I’m generally keeping the third display disconnected from the computers (through their display control panels) and just using it as a TV, though.

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Back before everybody’s cell phone had built-in GPS, I had a TomTom GPS. It came with a suction cup so you could stick it to the window, but that never really worked that well for me. It would constantly fall off the window, and it drove me nuts. So, I bought a beanbag friction mount that I could stick it to, and it would sit nicely on the dashboard whenever I was driving somewhere that I needed directions.

Fast forward to present day. I use my cell phone for directions when I need them, but I prop it up in a little groove below my car’s instrument panel. If I turn too fast, it goes flying, and it’s low enough that I’m constantly looking down for the next turn. The solution is a cell phone mount, and I’ve been shopping for the perfect one for a long time.

I didn’t want something that used a suction cup because of my previous bad experience, and I didn’t want something that used an adhesive because I worry about it doing permanent damage or failing over time. The vents in my car are not in a good location, so any clip-on mount’s not so great. I was considering going for a suction cup to re-use with my beanbag, but I was turned off by storing it. I wouldn’t want to leave it out all the time because the rubber could melt on a really hot day, it’s too big to store with the base & mount assembled, and the idea of disassembling & reassembling with each use is less than ideal, too.

This thing is great. First, it attaches to the CD slot in my car which is perfect. It’s right where I want it in the middle of the instrument panel, and I don’t think I’ll ever put another CD in there, anyway. The mount is small and reasonably unobtrusive, so I won’t have some big, bulky bracket that’s either out all the time or being stored with each use. It’s magnetic, so I just stick a metal badge under my phone’s case and it just sticks–super easy to mount and remove with one hand. There are no brackets, so I can put it in any orientation with whatever cables I might need (charging, stereo). It’s universal, so it’ll work with phones or tablets or anything else that’s light enough to be held by the magnet (which is pretty strong). It can also be used as a desktop stand for your phone, if you’re into that kind of thing, too.

The only thing that I can even think to complain about is that my phone blocks the clock a bit when it’s mounted, but I can still see the time by leaning a little to my left. (So be sure to think about what controls or displays it might be blocking.) Other than that, it’s amazing. Even my wife was impressed, which is really saying something. Best mount ever.

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I like gadgets, and so I tend to buy a lot of them. Some are life-changers, and some fizzle out after a few weeks or months. Here’s a rundown of notable gadgets I’ve acquired this year.

Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker

This little guy ended up on my wish list after playing with a demo at Best Buy. I definitely had a “whoa” moment when I heard it for the first time. So, when I moved into an office at work, I decided it was time to pull the trigger. I mean, it would be silly for me to listen to headphones in a room all by myself, right?

This is one purchase that I have zero regrets about. I use it almost every day. I listen to music in the office, NPR in the kitchen, and have toddler dance parties in the living room. It’s also great for being outside. The battery life is really good. I can’t tell you exactly what it is because I think it’s only gone dead on me once or twice. (It has a charging dock that I keep on my desk, and that’s it’s usual resting place.) I think you get a good 10+ hours on a full charge, though.

JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Headphones

After going to the gym for a few weeks, I decided it was time to invest in a pair of quality workout headphones. I wanted to go wireless because I’ve never really liked having the cord flopping around while I run, but I also wanted great sound since I could be using them 5-10 hours each week between workouts and other uses.

First, the good. The sound quality did not disappoint. I was nervous that I’d regret not going for a pair of wired buds with better quality, but these were great. The battery life is pretty good. I charge them every few days, and that’s sufficient to keep them from ever dying on me.

There is some bad with these, though. It took me a week or two to get used to them. In the first few days, I was really disappointed. I had tried a few different configurations (cord over the ear, under the ear, different size buds & wedges), but they weren’t comfortable and kept falling out during workouts. However, I stuck with them, found a configuration that I like, and no longer have any problems–so don’t give up! The only problem I have with them now is that every now and then, I’ll have problems with the audio just stopping. I don’t know if it’s my phone or the headphone that’s the culprit, but I’ll be listening to a song and it will just stop. There is no indication that I have disconnected, but I can take a few steps to reconnect and everything will be fine. I have tried rebooting my phone, power-cycling the headphones, and anything else I could think of. Most days everything is fine, but it’s super annoying on that one day every other week where it’s being temperamental. There have been a couple of days where I’ve given up on them and just stuffed them into my pocket during a workout.

One final gripe is that when I’ve used these to watch Netflix in bed, the audio has been out-of-sync with the picture. The audio sounds great, so I don’t blame the headphones here, but it’s out-of-sync due to bluetooth. So it’s not a problem that I’d have if I’d gone with wired ear buds.

Despite this seemingly negative review, I’m happy with what I’ve got. I’m sure that if I’d selected a wired pair, I’d have regrets about the cord. I love the sound and they’re comfortable. Great for listening to music, not-so-much for video.

Jackery Giant+

A portable power bank is one of those things that I never seemed to think about unless I was in need of one. Before my most recent trip out to the west coast, I decided to pick one up. I was initially deciding between the Lumsing 10400mAh and the Jackery Giant. I liked the Lumsing because it’s super-economical ($25), but I ultimately went with the Giant+ because of–of all things–the location of the USB ports.

One of the reviews of the Lumsing pointed out that it was awkward to use the charger from a pocket. I don’t expect that I’ll be doing my charging from my pants (but who knows), but I like that I can stick the Giant+ in an inner pocket of my backpack and still have the ports exposed. When I need some juice on the go, I can easily plug-in without any fuss and toss the device in need of charging into my backpack. The Giant+ is also slightly bigger (12000mAh) and has a flashlight. The flashlight seems like it could be useful, but the question is whether I’ll have the Giant with me when I need it!

Microsoft Band

When the Band was first announced, I was very “meh” about it. I had been looking for a watch with a built-in timer or stopwatch to help me with my workouts, and so I convinced myself to try it out. I headed over to my local Microsoft Store and they were all out of stock. Now that I couldn’t have one, I really wanted one. So I got myself on a list and waited.

It came a couple of weeks later. I’ve had it for about a month now, and I’m pretty happy with it. The thing I like most is something that I did not expect: the email and text alerts. You can’t really read or reply to these messages, but it’s great to take a quick peek by flipping your wrist to then determine if the it’s worthy of bringing my phone out of my pocket and dealing with it. Payment notification from Verizon, ignore. Text from wife, address immediately.

I haven’t really tried the guided workouts, I don’t really go on runs, and I don’t really care about my step count. I like the workout tracker (essentially just a timer + heart monitor) and sleep tracking, and, as mentioned previously, I really like the email and text alerts. It’s still early with this one, but it seems like a win.

Kindle Voyage

The Kindle Voyage is my latest toy. I had a 1st generation Kindle Fire that was ironically lost in a fire. I like it for reading at night, but I didn’t use many of the tablet features (browser or apps) and the glare was not so good for daylight reading at times. So, I decided to go for a pure e-reader this time. I’ve read just one book so far, but the more I use it, the more I like it.

I decided to get the Voyage for the auto-brightness adjustment, and it works nicely. I also like the page turn buttons on the side but wouldn’t consider this to be any sort of killer feature. All-in-all, I’m happy with this. It’s definitely better for reading than my Kindle Fire was, but I can’t say how it compares to another pure reader like the Paperwhite.

This is less techy, but it is no less awesome. I’m a stickler for tire pressure, but the condo that I’ve been living in does not have a nearby power source for me to connect my small air compressor. The gas station air is a pain since it’s usually not free, and I probably don’t have correct change. So, I wanted to find a wireless air compressor that I could keep in my car to use when I need it.

There were mixed reviews about this, but I decided to take a chance. I’m glad I did–I love it. Low pressure? I just pull this puppy out of the cargo area, and I’m back to normal in no time! It doesn’t fill up super fast (about 1-2 lbs every 30 sec), but it definitely gets the job done. Putting a few pounds of air into all four tires is easy work. There are gripes about the valve cord not being long enough, but just tip it on its side and it’s plenty.

It’s also got a jump starter. I haven’t had to use it, but it’s nice to know that I’ve got it. (I’ve been burned by jump starters in the past, so I’m keeping regular jumper cables around, too!) It has USB ports for charging devices, a radio, a flashlight, and both AC and DC power outlets. Plus it looks cool and seems to impress dads and grandpas. I’m happy with this thing just as a portable air compressor, but it does a lot more!

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Hi, I’m Adam. This is my blog.

I started this blog as a personal searchable repository of things I've learned and figured out. It evolved into a mechanism to facilitate personal growth, and now it's turned into a bit of a hobby. I enjoy writing about software development, my professional life, and related topics.

I love to hear from readers, so please feel encouraged to leave comments on anything you read here.

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